Page 93 of As Darkness Fall
“Yeah? What is it?” I asked.
Her discomfort was plainly obvious. “Um. Where is everyone else?”
I frowned. Why was she–Oh.
“They’re finneee,” I assured her, smiling broadly. “Everyone is alive and well. We just got split up, that’s all. Fred went to get the others. They’ll be back here soon, I promise.”
Jo slumped slightly as she sighed in relief. “Oh, thank goodness. I was worried there when it was just you guys who came back. Even Aaron didn’t look so good.”
“He got hurt,” I told her. “But he’ll be up and about before you know it, trust me. He’s more tired than anything.”
“And you got what you wanted?” she asked, pointing to the Idol on the bed next to me.
“Yep,” I said. “Sure did.”
I’d not had time to study the Idol much. In fact, I’d been so preoccupied with getting back here that I’d not truly examined it at all.
“Is everything okay?” Jo asked, sitting next to me.
I frowned. “Yeah. I think so.”
“Okay. You just seem distant.” Jo fidgeted. “Is there something you aren’t telling me?”
More like I’m not telling you anything.
“Yes,” I said, deciding that even if I wasn’t going to bring Jo into everything, I wasn’t going to lie to her either. “It’s complicated, and I’m not sure if including you would make things better or worse for you, Jo.”
“I see.”
“I won’t lie to you. There’s a lot we’re not telling you,” I said heavily. “You deserve to know that much, at least. But before you ask, no, I’m not going to tell you. Not until I have to. Trust me when I say it’s a lot easier not to know.”
Jo bit her lip, chewing on what I’d just said. “I see,” was all she said.
In Jo’s language, that meant she was upset, but a part of her also understood that I wasn’t doing it to be mean.
“I’m sorry,” I said, not sure what else to say.
“You can always tell me later if it proves okay or necessary,” Jo said tightly. “You can’t un-tell me. Right?”
“Right,” I said. “This is why you’re so great. You get me.”
“You’re so frustrating,” Jo said, but her lips quirked up in a little smile.
“I know,” I said, standing up and swallowing her in a hug. “I’m going to go check in on Aaron. Then I’m going to get some food. Join me?”
Jo smiled. “You never need to force me into having food.”
“Good,” I said, giving her another hug before I left the room. Instead of turning left toward the stairs, I went right, down the doors until I got to Aaron’s room. Now that I was showered and dressed, I felt like I should check on him. It seemed like the right thing to do.
And you want to face your fears as well. To see if you still feel the same now that you’ve calmed down.
Maybe there was some truth to that as well.
“Come in,” Aaron called.
I entered and stopped short at the sight before me.
“Well, isn’t that progressive of you,” I said, closing the door behind me and walking over to the bedside, where someone–presumably Vir–had fixed Aaron up with a blood pack fixed to his arm.
